President Obama and SecState Clinton are urging the Israelis to apologize to the Turks for Israel’s actions against the “flotilla” of anti-Israel “activists” that originated in Turkey. To which one can only respond with a question and a comment.

Question: How did the president’s global apology tour work out for us? Are the countries and peoples to whom he apologized friendlier, more cooperative and generally more pro-American? (Hint: the answer is a three letter word begging with “N” and ending in “T” with the president’s favorite initial in the middle);

Comment: Yes, words matter, but actions, especially in turbulent regions in which regimes are threatened and war is always just around the corner, matter a great deal more. And the biggest issue for the Turks nowadays is Syria. If Assad falls, the volatility of the whole world goes up several degrees. Just ask the Iranians, who have warned the Turks that if they don’t side with Assad, the Iranians will “choose Syria.”

It’s just like the debt “crisis”: potentially tectonic shifts are altogether possible, but there are no leaders in the White House (or Foggy Bottom, for that matter) worthy of the name. It’s all about posing, not about taking serious action.